Of Demigods and Superheroes
by 10a3k
Summary: What if some demigods decided to use their powers to become superheroes? This fanfiction follows the story Michael Prady, aka the Barny Owl, Selinda Lorre, aka Miss Swift and James Bowles, aka Javelin among others as they face challenges both magical and mortal, as well as their conflict with Camp Half - Blood. The names aren't the best but, hope you enjoy my story, from 10a3k. x.
1. Prologue

Zeus stood on the edge of Olympus, observing the city below him. His hands were tucked behind his back and he was wondering many things about mortals. He wondered why the Olympians' power came mostly from them, despite the fact the Olympians created them. He wondered why they no longer believed in or could use magic. He wondered why, though they delight in reading about and seeing movies about amazing heroes, they never tried to become actual heroes. He especially thought of the Olympians' children in this respect. Though they were heroes, the meaning of hero had changed over the millennia, and now there were superheroes.

Unknown to him, Eris, the goddess of discord, and Até, the goddess of folly, were lurking in the shadows behind him. To them, his thoughts were as loud as a foghorn being blown, and they sorted through them maliciously. "Oh, I wonder what we will use these thoughts for ", whispered Eris to Até. " There is no question of us not using them, after all, we only exist to serve and satisfy the Olympians, especially Almighty Zeus", Até said sarcastically. " Here's what we shall do. You, Até, will return to the Earth you were exiled to for thousands of years, and persuade the parents of certain demigods to take an oath on the Styx to never let their children attend Camp Half - Blood and I will grant special powers upon certain demigods and plant ideas in their heads while they are growing in their mother's womb". " Also, we will give birth to children who will be their enemies", whispered Eris. " Excellent! Finally Zeus shall pay for banishing me to the ghastly world below us. It is worse than Hades", Até said darkly. "Ah, but Até, only after we are finished with it will it be...". Zeus turned and the goddesses vanished in a swirl of black seeds before he could see them.

Zeus stepped forward, dipped a finger into the seeds and brought it to his lips. His nose wrinkled in disgust. "The Seeds of Discord", he said distastefully. He waved his hand over the seeds, and they turned into foul - smelling smoke, which drifted up into the sky. Zeus glared after it, then turned and disappeared in a flash of sheet lightning.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Meet Miss Swift.

Lindy's Perspective:

Hi, nice to meet you. My name's Selinda Beatrice Lorre, but my friends call me Lindy. However, you now may know me by another name, but please call me Lindy. I was just a teenage delinquent from Wisconsin, but one day, a day which seemed like any other day, but, little did I know, my life was about to change forever.

I woke up on a Monday morning to my mom's incessant yelling. " SELINDA, SELINDA", she squawked, " COME DOWN NOW OR YOU'LL GO TO SCHOOL WITH NO BREAKFAST". " God, I coming, no need to threaten me with not getting breakfast", I sighed. " DON'T YOU TAKE THE LORD'S NAME IN VAIN, AND DON'T YOU TALK BACK TO ME. NOW COME DOWN", she shrieked. Knowing it was no use arguing with her any longer, I pulled myself out of bed and trudged to the door. I plodded my way down the stairs and into the kitchen, to see my mom standing by the hob, hand on her hip and an expression that would make the angler fish like the most beautiful thing ever. God, how she irritated me. I can never believe that I'm her biological daughter, as we are complete opposites. She is fanatically religious; I'm couldn't give a damn about religion, she always adheres strictly to rules and the law; I've been arrested more times than I can count. Granted, she raised me on her own, which was hard for her, and she always stuck up for me when I was arrested, and she refused to send me to a "special" school after I was diagnosed with kleptomania. I am grateful to her for all she's done for me, but moments like these make me completely forget my gratitude to her. " Selinda, why do you always rise late", she snarled, green eyes glaring daggers at me. For some strange reason, she always insists on calling me Selinda, which I hate. " Mom, I don't _rise_ late, you _rise _too early", I said. " Ridiculous, sixo' clock is not too early, in fact, it's not early at all. Young people these days, always wasting the day sleeping when they should be using the wasted time productively", she sniffed. She turned back to the oatmeal, flicking her raven ponytail over her shoulder. Seeing this as a dismissal, I went to the table, took last night's math homework out of my schoolbag and proceeded to do it as I waited. Seriously, my mom acts like she's 50, but really she's only 35. She look 50 though, with her razor - sharp features, her long, slightly hooked nose, her papery skin, her tall narrow frame and her silver - streaked raven hair. This may be due to the fact that she had me when she was twenty, and there was complications with the pregnancy. Now I'm fifteen, and I'm no closer to looking like her. the trait we share is being tall. I've an athletic build, an upturned nose and upturned eyebrows, curly brown hair, sallow skin and pretty attractive brown eyes ( if you will excuse the vanity ). I was jolted out of my reverie by my mom's squawk of " OATMEAL'S READY". She marched over to the table carrying two bowls and the pot of oatmeal, glaring at me. I tried to hide my math homework under the table. " Selinda, what do I always tell you? Do your homework the night you're assigned it", she snapped, glaring at me some. " Sorry", I whimpered, stuffing my math into my bag. My mom slammed the bowls onto the table and poured oatmeal into both. She then went to the sink. I bolted for the silverware, grabbed a spoon and rushed back to the table before Mom could apprehend me.

I gobbled down the oatmeal, ran to the sink, depositing my bowl and spoon, and bolted up the stairs to my room.

Beatrice's Perspective:

Beatrice Lorre watched her daughter race out of the room. She thought about Selinda and pondered the circumstances of her birth and her father. She flashed back to sixteen years ago...

_Beatrice sat on the balcony of her flat, looking out over the city of Washington D.C. She heard her roommate open the door of their apartment and enter. She went to greet her and help her with her shopping. She went back out onto the balcony and to her shock and to her shock there was a young man dangling off the balcony, holding onto the bars for dear life. She gasped, and ran forward to help him. She grabbed his wrists and hauled him up onto the balcony, where he promptly collapsed on top of her. Blushing she got to her feet. " Are you all right", she asked the man, who was gasping for breath. " I'll survive. Thank you by the way". " Don't mention it, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if I let you fall", Beatrice gasped, a little out of breath herself. The young man grinned. He looked about 19 years old, with elf - like features and a mischievous glint in his brown eyes. He was well - tanned, had an athletic build and curly black hair. He got to his feet. " How did you get there", Beatrice asked, eyes wide. " Let's just say I don't get on as well with my roommate as you do with yours", he chuckled, " I'd better be getting back to my apartment now". " Don't you want to stay for a drink or a bite to eat. You're hardly fit to go right now, after what just happened", Beatrice implored. "Fine, I think I can stay for a few minutes". Beatrice smiled and they went into her apartment proper. _

_It had been 11 months since she had met the mysterious stranger on the balcony, and now she was in the hospital, 5 weeks pregnant. She was resting after the check - up in a hospital bed when the door opened a strange woman came in. She was dressed in a hooded black cotton coat, and she was wearing Ray - Bans and combat boots. Beatrice edged away from her. "Who are you? What do you want?", Beatrice said shakily. " Oh, I want you Beatrice and the baby inside you, but I didn't come here to talk about me, I came here to warn you", the mysterious woman whispered. " Warn me about what?", Beatrice whispered, edging further away from her. " Some time into the future, you will be visited by certain persons. They will want to take your daughter away from you and to a place called Camp Half - Blood. You must refuse them", she said. "What on earth are you talking about? Why would anyone want to take my daughter away? What is Camp Half - Blood? How do you know I'm going to have a girl?" "It doesn't matter how I know, you just must refuse them". _

_"I don't know who you are, but if you don't leave my room this instant, I will call the cops on you". " Oh, you don't talk to me like that", the woman whispered menacingly. " I can talk to you whatever way I want, now leave ", Beatrice said shrilly, her voice trembling. The woman hissed, spun and marched out of the room, leaving the doors swinging behind her. _

Beatrice jumped back to the present. To this day she did not knowwho that woman was, but she agreed to follow her orders after the... complications with Selinda's birth. After all she was just trying to protect her.


	3. Chapter 2, Discovery

Chapter 3: Discovery.

Lindy's Perspective:

I rushed into my bedroom, grabbed some clothes out of my drawer and pulled them on. I raced down and dashed around the kitchen opening cupboards and pulling random food out. As well as being a kleptomaniac, I'm also ADHD, which gives me an unfortunate habit of always leaving things to the last minute. Thankfully, I'm also pretty fast, so I usually get them done. " Selinda, why must you always leave things to the last minute? You know things will not be done well if you always procrastinate", Mom sighed at me. " I know, I know, but I can't help it. you try being ADHD for a day", I huffed. I stuffed my lunch into my bag and ran through the door.

I sprinted down the driveway and hurtled along the sidewalk. I always sprint to school, as it is only a kilometre away. This may seem like a long distance to sprint, but I'm a member of the athletics club at school and I train daily. I ran past the Mason's bright purple house at the corner of the street, waving to Mrs Mason when she yelled " Hi " to me. As I sprinted through the park, I was joined by my friend Tansy. " Hi, Lindy, how was your weekend?", she gasped breathlessly, easily keeping up with me. " Fine, how was yours", I said. " Oh, you know, same old same old. Running, studying, helping my dad in his herb garden, nothing different", she said nonchalantly. Tansy has been my best friend since second grade, where we bonded over our mutual love of running. She is also a member of the school athletics club, and, along with me, is one of their star members. She is also a bit of a swot, always studying during the weekend, after school, even between classes. Completely unlike me.

" So, ready for your chemistry test today, second period", she said in her usual breathless way. " Chemistry test, what chemistry test? Since when did we have a chemistry test today?", I said, feeling panic about to overwhelm me. " Uh, last Friday, when Mister Diaz assigned it to us. Oh, great, you forgot about it didn't you", she sighed, shaking her head. " Yes", I cringed, " I know, I know, I should study for tests, I should make note of tests so I can study for them, I should listen too my mom about studying. I've heard that lecture before, no need for you to give it to me", I grumbled. We jogged up the last of the street and into the yard. As always, we were early to school and had arrived before the bus. We made our way quickly to the school doors and scurried inside just as the bus pulled into the yard. " Whoa, that was close", Tansy gasped, and we made our way to our lockers. As we walked, boys turned their heads to stare at Tansy. That is not surprising at all, as Tansy is really pretty. She has long blonde hair so straight it doesn't look real, clear pale skin, glittering sapphire - blue eyes, a dainty button nose and a supermodel figure complete with a tiny waist. I'll admit it, I often get jealous of her, especially during moments like these, but, as she's my best friend, I get over it. We reached our lockers. I opened my locker and a pile of cards all saying " Freak". I growled. " Shapanka. All want to do right now is grind her skull into blush and smear on her cronies' faces ", I snarled. "Whoa, easy tiger. That is a little much. Just chill a little bit alright", said Tansy worriedly. " Fine, but I'm still going to give her a piece of my mind when she gets here with the rest of her little clique", I snarled. As if on cue, Regina Shapanka and her cheerleader clique rounded the corner. I prepared myself for the onslaught to come. As usual, Regina noticed me almost right away and rushed forward as fast she could in her six - inch stilettos. Regina is a small, thin girl, with platinum blonde curls and doll - like blue eyes. Honestly, she looked like a porcelain doll. " Oh, hey, _freak_", she said, trying and failing to sound cool. " Oh, hey, Regina. Why did they let you out of the doll store? You are there best model", I said. Regina frowned, trying to figure out what I meant. I could almost see her tiny brain straining to process what I just said. " Uh, I think she's complimenting you", said Heather Jones, the smartest out of all the cheerleaders. Regina spun on her " Duh". She then turned back to me. I could have been at my base classroom by now if I wanted to, but I want to deal with these idiots. " So, Lorre, did you get my little message", Regina said dumbly. " No, I didn't, you must've sent it to the wrong address", I said sweetly, a false smile plastered on my face. Again, this took Regina a few minutes to process, and this time Gretchen Miller piped up. " Uh, Regina, she's just trying to sound smart. Let's get out of here ". Smartest thing she said all year. Regina sneered at me and the cheerleaders wobbled away on their stilettos. As they were rounding the corner, they met with the varsity jocks, their arm candy. The cheerleaders linked up with their respective boyfriends and dragged them off to prepare for football practice this evening. Tansy rolled her eyes. " Seriously, you'd think you require some brains to be a cheerleader or a varsity jock", she sighed. " You'd think, but you'd be wrong", I said. We took the necessary books out of our lockers and marched to our base classroom.

After base class, I parted ways with Tansy and walked to business class. I love business, because, with my dyslexia, it is the only subject I can do with my head going for a swim. I entered the classroom and sat down the desk in the back corner. As usual, I was early. Ms Silver came in and smiled at me. She is a dainty little woman of about 40 with died black wringlets, grey eyes brimming with enthusiasm and way too much pink lipstick. " Oh, Lindy you're early today, how wonderful. Now we can get started", she trilled in her high - pitched voice. " Miss, I think we should wait for the rest of the class to come", I said, a little worried. Ms Silver is a great teacher and one of the few who are nice to me, but, she is very absent - minded and always goes off on a tangent at the slightest provocation. I try to keep her in line though. " Oh, yes, we must wait. Lindy, did I ever tell you about the time I accidentally sold my little brother to Somalian pirates? So any, I was 18 years old and my brother was helping me with my business and...". She droned on for about 5 minutes before I decided it was time to stop her " Yes, it's a great story, Ms S, but, look, the other students are arriving", I said pointing my eyes to the door. Thankfully, my classmates were arriving. They filtered into the class and took their seats. Steve Carmody, the boy who sits in front of me in business class, was glued to his phone always and bumped into the desk. " Careful, Steve, we'd hate for you to get hurt", Ms Silver cried, genuine concern in her voice. The class laughed, including me ( don't hold it against me, it was funny ). Steve didn't take his eyes of his precious smart phone. " Right, let's begin. Now today, we will be learning how to... Oh, hello, can I help you?". A young man had just entered the room. He was tall, about 6"4, with pale skin, a shaven head and dark brown eyes. " Yes", he said in a very deep voice. " I am John Crowley, the new business student". Ms Silver frowned. " I don't remember anything about a student teacher", she said in a confused tone. " Well, I'm sure you did, you just forgot", he insisted rather forcefully. Ms Silver blinked, then turned to the whiteboard and proceeded to write today's lesson structure on the board. Mr Crowley took a seat beside me and stared at me. I shifted in my seat uneasily and set my eyes determinedly on the whiteboard, trying to ignore him. Ms Silver was prattling on about balance sheets, and, as interesting as I find balance sheets, I couldn't concentrate on the board. I sneaked a peek at Mr Crowley and he was still staring at me. I edged away from him. Butterflies were fluttering in my stomach and I was beginning to feel nauseous. I must've looked ill, because when Ms Silver turned to the class, she looked at me with a worried expression. " Lindy, are you alright dear?", she said worriedly. " No, I don't feel so hot. Could I go to the restroom?". " Of course, my dear, go". " Thanks", I said, and I bolted out of the classroom, hearing the class laughing behind me. I reached the restroom, burst in and threw myself into a cubicle. I hunched over the toilet, wheezing. I really didn't know was going on, I mean, I felt fine this morning. Maybe it was the porridge. I promptly threw up into the toilet. I pulled myself to my feet and staggered out of the cubicle, grabbing a paper towel and wiping the sick off my face. Feeling another hurl coming, I ran for the cubicle but didn't make it and projectile vomited onto the door.

I collapsed onto the ground and groaned. I looked up to see Mr Crowley standing in the doorway, gazing at me intently. I staggered to my feet. " Um, this is the girl's restroom. The men's one is down the hall, first door on your left", I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. " I know where the men's restroom is, but I do not want to relieve myself. I want you", he said. " Okay, that's... nice", I said, seriously creeped out now. He advanced towards me. I staggered away, trying to get as far a way from this pervert as possible. He stared into my eyes. I whimpered, and vomit trickled out of my mouth and onto my shirt. He gazed at my neck almost.. hungrily. " L - leave m - me alone, o - o - or I'll c - call the p - principal", I stuttered, this close from legging it. " You wouldn't, or I'd do things to you, bad things" he snarled. That was the last straw. I dashed pass him and legged it down the corridor. In hindsight, running away wouldn't have done much as, in my current state I would have been easy to catch, but at the time I was too panicked to care. I burst through the senior's entrance and tore across the grass, saliva and vomit dribbling down my chin. I looked back to see him chasing me. Big mistake. I tripped over a root and went down. I shrieked and struggled to get back up, but I slipped in my vomit. I lay on the grass helplessly, watching Mr Crowley running towards me. Then that day got a whole lot weirder. Mr Crowley hissed and his eyes glowed bright red. I gasped in shock as he transformed into a ghastly being. His skin turned pure white, fangs split his gums and his hands warped into talons. His shoes were torn to shreds by newly formed talons and he ripped of his leather trench coat and pants to reveal an emaciated bone white form, covered with a grey tunic. Blood ran from his eyes and his ears turned pointed. " Ssselinda Lorre, sssso long have I waited for thisss moment, to feassst upon your blood", he hissed, a green forked tongue flickering between his lips. " What are you?", I yelped, desperately crawling away. " I am Mormo, the Ssscourge of Nurssseriessss", He hissed, sounding very pleased with himself. As scared as I was, I couldn't resist commenting. " Seriously, the Scourge of Nurseries, that's the most terrifying title you could come up with", I said. Mormo hissed. " You mock me, Ssssselinda. I shall feasssst upon your blood for that". " Really, I thought you were going to do that any way". Mormo roared. I really regretted saying that. His left hand burst into flame and he lobbed a fireball at me. Miraculously, I dodged it. He snarled and put his hands together. I managed to get out of the way before he opened his hands and a wave of fire burst forth. Thankfully, the flames just fizzled out. Mormo snarled and leaped at me. I dodged out of the way, zipped towards the bicycle stand, grabbed an old rusted pole and hurled it at Mormo. Astonishingly, it went right through his chest. He looked at his chest in shock and crumpled to the ground. I didn't wait around to see if he was dead. I ran onto the street and dashed down it at incredible speed in all my vomit - covered glory.


	4. Discovery Part II

Discovery Part II.

Tansy's Perspective:

I was sitting in Italian class, listening to Mr Russo's explanation of the past tense of the verb saltare when I heard a crash from outside the window. I immediately perked up and looked out the window. The minute I did that the entire class left their seats and scrambled to the windows. " Ugh, that's one big pile of poop", said Amber Gold. I frowned at her. There was no poop on the lawn, only the carcass of some hideous monster. As I watched, the carcass began to dissolve, melting into a mustard yellow powder, which was blown away by the wind. " Meess Denton, please reeturn tu your seets", Mr Russo said in his ridiculous Italian accent. He is possibly the worst teacher in the school. Even I never learn anything in his classes. I returned to my seat, glancing confusedly at the window.

" Sank yaw, nowu, is ee woos sayeenng", he drawled. He went on rambling about the verb saltare for the rest of the class. When class was finished, I gathered my book and went to find Lindy, as we go to the same chemistry class.

Strangely, she wasn't at her locker. I went to see if she still was in Ms Silver's room, but she wasn't. I was beginning to worry, then realised she was probably in Mr Diaz's lab by now, so I went there.

She wasn't there either. I was seriously worried now. Frowning, I took my seat at the front of the class. There was something written on the whiteboard but to me it looked like gibberish because of my dyslexia.

The rest of the class came in, followed by Mister Diaz. Mister Diaz was my favourite teacher. He was a young Hispanic man with twinkling brown eyes, a shaven head, a very short but stocky stature and a little black goatee. He stepped up to his desk and a big smile plastered his face. " Hello everyone, ready for your test today?", he said, still smiling hugely. " Everybody groaned. " Now, now, it'll be fun. You get to mix chemicals until an explosion occurs", he said. Every body smiled and a few cheered. " That's a better attitude, now let's begin". He strolled around the room, handing out papers and scientific supplies as the last few students came in. Last of all to come in was Grant Lizewski, one the football team's star players. He was huge, about 6"1 with tanned skin with spots in places, small grey eyes, straight white teeth ( paid for by his super - rich dentist daddy ), and blonde hair shaved tight. To my surprise, he sat down beside me and he said hi to me. This was very shocking to me, as he had never even looked at me before, let alone talked ( Okay, that's not strictly true, he talked to me once, and, like the rest of the boys in the school, often ogles me ). I smiled sunnily at him " Hi, Grant", giving him a little wave. There was a squeaking noise from the other side of the room. I smiled fakely at Regina Shapanka, the source of the noise and Grant's girlfriend. She looked like she was going to throw a tantrum. " You have 15 minutes to complete the written test, and how ever how long it takes you to make something explode", called Mr Diaz from the front. I started the written test straight away.

" Uh, Tansy". I turned to Grant, smiling. " Yes", I said innocently, batting my eyelids at him. He frowned, not sure what to make of that. As you may have guessed, he isn't the smartest. " Could you tell me what the answer to question 5 is", he muttered in his deep voice. " Oh, Grant, I'm afraid I can't tell you. You have to figure it out yourself", I said, ultra - coyly. " Please", he said, giving me puppy dog eyes. I melted. " Sure, it's neutralisation", I told him, smiling sweetly.

There was a strange groaning noise from the other side of the room, and I turned around to see a red - faced Regina glaring daggers at me. I smiled sweetly. Regina looked like she was about to burst. I turned, whipping my ponytail over my shoulder.

I finished the test and proceeded to mix chemicals together, as well as helping Grant finish his test. I knew that if I mixed potassium and water we'd get a nice burst of flame, but I wanted to draw it out so I could spend more time with Grant. I also knew that no chemicals could create as big an explosion as the one Regina was going to make when this class was over. I grinned evilly.

I poured some hydrochloric acid into my test tube. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and I was knocked off my chair. At first I thought the impossible happened and Regina had literally exploded but when I looked towards her, her body was very much intact ( sadly ).

I looked around the class. Everyone was lying unconscious on the ground, but as I looked, Grant began to stir. I helped him to his feet, which was a challenge as he weighed about 200 pounds in muscle. I looked at my test tube and was surprised to see a large green miasma had formed over it.

Grant and I backed away from it. As we watched it, it formed into a face. " Greetings, demigods. I am Aer, God of the Lower Atmosphere. I apologise for the theatrics, but I needed to speak to you in private", the face said. " I have come to warn you of a great danger lurking in your school. One has been dealt with, but the other one will not be so easily slain", Aer boomed, his voices causing the test tubes. For several minutes, I just stood there with my mouth hanging. After a few minutes, I managed to drag myself out of my shock. " Why did you call us demigods? What is this great danger in our school? Why do you call yourself God of the Lower Atmosphere? Where's Lindy? Do you have her?", I shouted, questions tumbling out of my mouth. " To answer your numerous questions, I called you demigods because that is what you are, half - human, half god. The danger in the school is the Teumessian fox, who cannot be caught. I call myself God of the Lower Atmosphere because, sadly, that is what I am, the god of the stinkin', dirty, foul air the mortals breath", he grumbled.

" Hey, its not that bad, now answer my question, do you have Lindy? If not, where is she?", I growled at him. Aer sighed. " I do not know where she is, and I do not have her. Her presence is being shielded from me", Aer said. " Really. that doesn't seem convenient for you at all", I said sarcastically. Aer clenched his teeth. " I am telling you the truth, if you just listened to me...". He turned his head as if listening to something. " The fox is coming", Aer said, sounding frightened. " Is there anything you can do to help us?", I cried desperately. " Not much, only hold it back. Use the boy's power". With that he disappeared in a foul - smelling poof of air. " Wait, what do you mean? You can't leave us, please come back. Please, Aer, help us - ".

I was cut off in my rants by a piercing scream that ripped through the school. Grant turned to me. " Run", he said, and run we did.

Lindy's Perspective.

I was about half - way through the park before I noticed how fast I was going. I let out a long, shrill squeak of surprise and almost tripped over another root.

Frightened by how fast I was going, I tried to stop, and, much to my surprise, I stopped immediately. Groaning, I got to my feet. I didn't feel like throwing up any more, but I still felt ill and I look like I'd spent the night drinking

The adrenalin having worn off, I staggered towards the pond and attempted to wash off the vomit and the saliva I was dribbling all over the place. Sadly, it was not enough to clean it off completely, and all I managed to do was make myself wet.

Feeling very grumpy, I trudged home from the park. As usual, Mrs Mason yelled hi to me as I passed her house, but, being in a very bad mood, I ignored her. She calling hi at me however, and in the end I waved at her to make her stop her robotic calls.

I stomped up the driveway to my house, at glared at my mom, standing in the doorway to our house. She tried to look serious. " Selinda, whatever did you do to yourself? Get inside and clean yourself up", she said fiercely, false fire flickering in her eyes. " You. Owe. Me. A. Big. Explanation.", I managed to saw, before passing out on the ground.

I woke up in my bed, completely clean and smelling of Lemon Pledge. Obviously Mom had to bring out the big guns to get me cleaned up. I sat up in bed. Beside me on my locker, there was a tray with a tall glass tumbler on it and a plate covered in some sort of pudding. I reached for the glass. It was filled with an unappealing, greenish liquid. Inspecting nervously, I downed it one. It tasted great, like my favourite grape and blueberry tarts my grandma used to make me. It didn't seem possible that the drink tasted like them, as the recipe for them had died with her.

I picked up the plate and tried the pudding. It also tasted like Grandma's grape and blueberry tart. As I was devouring the strange pudding, the door opened and my mom entered. She smiled at me tenderly. " How are you feeling, sweetheart?", she said kindly. Strange, she's never this nice to me. " Great. Where did you get this stuff? You should get it more often, whatever it is", I said, mouth full of pudding. She smiled rather sadly. " I'm afraid that's not possible. I don't have much left, but I'm sure you will have some more soon", she said, as sad as her smile. I frowned. " What is it?", I asked. " It's ambrosia, and the drink is nectar", she answered. " Ambrosia, like the food of the gods?", I queried, frowning. " Yes. I know you have a lot of questions, but please, just listen to me for a few minutes. You are a demigod, half - human, half - god. You're father didn't go away because he had a business to return to over seas, he left because he is Hermes, Greek God of the Roadways, Commerce, and Thieves. You inherited some of his talents, like you have discovered today. However, you are not immortal and are vulnerable to attacks my many foul monsters. The creature you fought today, Mormo, is something of an Ancient Greek bogeyman, a minor monster. If you are not trained properly, you will probably be killed or gravely injured by a monster. However, I cannot send you to be properly trained, so I requested help from the gods to train you".

"But Mom, you are a religious fanatic". She scowled at that. " You are always going on about God this, God that. How do you believe in that if you know God doesn't exist", I exclaimed. " God does exist Selinda, just because what an ancient primitive civilisation said about the world was true doesn't mean I have to abandon my beliefs", she said firmly. " Okay", I squeaked.

She relaxed a little. " Anyway, I have something to give you. Your father sent this to me to give to you when you were thirteen, but I couldn't bring myself to give it to you. I couldn't change your life forever", she sighed. " It's okay, Mom, I don't care much", I insisted, trying to sound casual. " Oh, Selinda, it does matter, you should care. You have every right to care", she cried. She put her head in her hands. " Anyway, I still have his gift, I'll get it now". She left the room. I pondered what she had said, about me being a demigod. Could it be true? She returned carrying a big brown paper package. As she got closer I could see the address stamped on it: Miss Selinda, 47 Cromwell Street, Liston, Wisconsin. I didn't recognise the delivery service mark. It was a thin line surrounded by loops and topped with a pair of wings. Mom held it out. " Here, I should have given it to you 2 years ago". I took the package and began ripping off the paper. " Do you know what it is?", I asked. She shook her head. I tore off the last off the wrapping. Inside was a long shoebox. Confused, I opened it. Inside were a pair of knee - high, dark blue boots with little white wings at the ankles. I lifted them out of the box. " Try them on", my mom prompted excitedly. I took off my runners and pulled the boots onto my feet. They were quite tight. I stood up. Immediately, the wings began to flap and I lifted into the air. I yelled in surprise.

"What's happening? Why am I flying? Get me down, get me down NOW", I yelled, thrashing helplessly in the air. " I'm sorry Lindy, I can't get you down. I don't know how they work.

I groaned. I started kicking my feet and I began whizzing around the room, thankfully in circles. I shrieked. I had more than enough surprises for one day. I did a high kick and fell onto the slatted floor, hard. I got up, groaning. " My tailbone, my tailbone". My mom went to inspect it and I yelped when she touched it. " Ouch, don't touch it", I grumbled. "Well, I have to do something", she said, I suppose reasonably.

I yanked off my boots and dumped them on the bed. " Well, clearly the magical flying boots don't work any more. They should come with an expiring date", I snapped. " Honey, I'm pretty sure they are working perfectly, you just don't know how to use them yet", Mom said firmly. " Fine, I'll keep them, give 'em another try", I grumbled. My mom's expression saddened. " Please keep them, it is the only thing you have from your father", she pleaded.

" Alright, I'll keep them. They could be cool if I use them correctly", I said. Then I thought of an idea.


	5. The Fox, the Blonde and the Camp

The Fox, The Blonde and The Camp.

Grant's Perspective.

Tansy and I raced out into the corridor. Immediately, we heard another scream coming from the direction we were going in. We promptly ran the other way. Tansy looked great while she ran, blonde tresses streaming over her shoulders like a river of molten gold, strong legs and arms pumping.

" Grant, wakey - wakey, eggs and bakey", Tansy said, waving her hand in front of my face. I blinked and shook my head. " Yeah, what is it?", I said. " Well, according to a floating green face, we are being chased by a gigantic fox through the school. Don't you think it would be a good idea to form a plan?", she asked.

" Yeah, sure, I've a great plan. I beat up the fox using my awesome power. I mean come on, how tough can it be? It's a fox", I said excitedly. She stared at me. " That is the worst plan ever. You don't know what your power is. And, you don't know that this... Teumessian fox isn't tough", she pointed out. " Uh, so. I can still beat it up", I said. She groaned and dragged me into an empty lab. " Okay, let me get this straight. You cannot beat up this monster. This monster will probably kill you, and then have you for lunch and me for an appetiser, alright", she said, raising her eyebrows. " Alright, I won't attack the monster". " Oh, you can attack it alright, just not too physically".

Then there was a scream outside the door and the door buckled. Like every ADHD, I reacted impulsively and threw myself out the window. Last thing I heard before passing out was Tansy's scream of annoyance.

Tansy's Perspective.

Grant is the biggest idiot ever. He just had to throw himself the window and knock himself out. Didn't realise we were on the first floor. So I had to face the giant fox alone. The fox snarled at me. It was at least the size of a tank, with bright red fur, a sharply - pointed snout, glittering green eyes, fangs like scimitars, razor - sharp claws and long white whiskers. It bared its teeth at me. I barely managed to get out of the way before it pounced. I hoped it would over jump and go out the window but it managed to pull up just before the window. It growled. It swiped a table towards me with its brush and it hit me in the side. I cried out. I looked down to see a couple of blood - soaked boards sticking into my side. It was all I could do to stay conscious.

I staggered to my feet and stumbled out the door. However, halfway down the corridor, white - hot pain shot through me and I collapsed on the floor, my blood forming a pool around me. Shaking badly, I tried to pull the board out of my side but I couldn't. Not wanting to puncture my lungs or lacerate my heart, I decided to let it be for the time being.

I strained to get up. My peripheral vision was going black and the fox's screams were becoming more and more muffled. Wait, the fox. I heard the wall exploding behind me as the fox broke through. I focused all my willpower into to getting up, but I had lost far to much blood to do so. Instead, I managed to get into a sitting position and turned to look at the fox. The fox seemed to have trouble getting to me, as every time it charged me, it was pushed back, probably by Aer.

Sitting in a pool of my own blood, white as a ghost and shaking like crazy, I grabbed one of the boards and yanked with all my remaining strength. Surprisingly, it came out. " Hey", I said to the fox weakly, " you ugly mutt. Come at me". It hesitated, I really don't know why, as I was a sitting duck. Then, throwing caution to the winds, it pounced. I raised the board and it sliced right into the thing's chest. It staggered away, screaming in pain, until it finally collapsed, turned to stone and dissolved into silver dust, which drifted up to the sky.

I smiled, then promptly passed out.

Grant's Perspective:

I woke up but kept my eyes closed. I was on some formed of couch, really soft and plush. My hands and face were really sore, and it felt like they were scratched by pieces of glass. Then I remembered, they were scratched by glass after I threw myself through the window.

I kind of suppose that it wasn't very gentleman - like to leave Tansy to face the monster on her own. Speaking of which, where was Tansy?

I heard people talking, two guys and a girl. It sounded like they were arguing. " Stop trying to make me feel bad about leaving the guy there. The other girl needed my help more than he did", said the girl. " I agree that the girl needed help, but we managed to get her to camp by ourselves. You didn't have to come to the rescue. You could at least brought him with you", argued the first guy. " Ha, you know the Grey Sister's taxi is very unreliable. It was bad enough you had to load the dying girl into it Will, we couldn't have fitted a second", the girl snapped. " Whoa, whoa, come on guys, calm down. Annabeth, just don't leave unconscious demigods lying on the ground in the future. Will, it is never a good idea to load a dying person onto the Grey Sister's taxi. Being on that thing can make you sick", reasoned the second guy. " Shut up, Paris", Annabeth and Will yelled. Paris sighed.

" Hmm, interesting. It seems our companion is awake", Paris mused. How he knew I was awake, I don't know, but there wasn't much point in pretending any longer so I opened my eyes and sat up. I nearly regurgitated my lunch. We were in a chariot, flying through the air at great speeds. The chariot was being drawn by a pair of winged horses, pegasi, I think they're called. There were three other people in the carriage, a tall athletic guy of about fifteen with curly blond hair, blue eyes and a quiver full of arrows slung across his back, a tall, thin, sly - looking guy of about sixteen with long black hair tied back in a ponytail, mischievous bright green eyes, a long nose and various tools attached to his belt. However, the one who caught my eye the most was the blonde girl who must've been Annabeth. She looked like a stereotypical California girl, with blonde Cinderella curls and perfectly - tanned skin. However, her eyes were a dark, stormy grey, eyes that seemed to burn through your entire being, exposing every secret, every weakness.

"So, where am I?", I asked. It seemed like a good place to start. " We're flying over rural Ohio", said Annabeth, looking at me rather coolly. " Where are we going?", I asked, gulping under Annabeth's gaze. " Long Island, New York. We're on our way to camp", Annabeth answered, her voice glacial and her face like stone. I seriously didn't what her problem was. Maybe because she got into trouble for leaving me.

Then I remembered Tansy. " Is Tansy okay? Where is she?", I asked, feeling a little worried. " I assume Tansy is the dying girl. We had to get her to camp quickly or she would've died", said Annabeth. My blood went cold. " Dying, what do you mean she's dying? What happened to her?", I asked frantically, feeling really, really guilty. " She was stabbed in the sides by several contaminated wooden boards. She must've been injured by a monster", Will said. " The Teumessian fox", I muttered. Will frowned. " But, the Teumessian fox was imprisoned in the stars. How could it be alive". " Easy. Like all monsters, it can never truly die, so when Zeus turned it to stone and imprisoned it in the stars, it simply went to Tartarus, regenerated and reformed on Earth. I'm very sorry, we're being very rude. Introductions time. I am Paris Le Beau, son of Techne and wizard extraordinaire", he said with a very low bow. " This is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and this is Will Solace, son of Apollo and archer extraordinaire". Will smiled at that. Annabeth just glared at him.

" Wh - wh - what are you talking about? Who is Athena, who's Ap - ap - apollo, who's Techne? What is " c - c - c - camp"? Did you kidn - n - napp me? Why is Annabeth glaring at me?", I stammered. Annabeth looked at me like I just said 2+2 was 5. " You don't know who Athena is?", she said disbelievingly. " Okay Annabeth, not helping. We didn't kidnap you, we're helping you. We're taking you to Camp Half - Blood, the one of the only safe places on Earth for demigods, like us", Will explained kindly. This confused me even more. " What's a demigod", I asked. " It's someone who is half - human, half - god", Will explained slowly. " That's not possible for God to have children with humans, he's above human vices", I said. I come from a religious family. " No God, capital G. The children of the Olympians, the Greek gods", Will said with a touch of exasperation. " Children of Greek gods, yeah, and I'm Dumbledore's son", I joked. Will sighed and sagged.

He handed me a bottle. " Just drink some of this", he said tiredly. I peered into the bottle. " What is it?", I said. " It's nectar, it will heal your scrapes". " Okay", I said, and I took a slug.

It tasted like my favourite protein shake, with two spoonfuls of sugar mixed in. I began gulping down the rest. Will snatched it off me. " Okay, that's enough", he said. " Hey, man, what did you do that for?", I asked angrily. " Too much could be fatal", he said seriously. " What? You let me drink that stuff", I yelped. I ran to the edge to spit it out but when I looked over the edge, vertigo overwhelmed me and I fell back onto the couch. I shuddered.

" Good news. We are arriving at Camp Half - Blood now", Annabeth said, slowly and loudly. " Excellent, I have had more than enough of this for one day", said Paris.

Paris's Perspective:

It was quite amusing, watching Will trying to explain Greek mythology to the idiot demigod we'd rescued. Even more amusing was Annabeth's glares and coolness.

As we descended, our big idiot finally told us his name. " I'm Grant Lizewski", he said dumbly, with a dumb expression on his face. Clearly, a son of Ares.

We flew over Thalia's pine tree and landed on the chariot track, skimming over it for a few minutes before it came to a rest. I jumped up and leaped out of the chariot. " Well, I personally think that was a good trip. No unfriendly anemoi thuellai, no busted axes, no drugged pegasi. Granted one of the demigods was dying, and the other a doofus, but that's not our fault is it", I said jovially. Annabeth glared at me as she got out of the chariot. She's been in a bad mood for weeks, ever since her boyfriend, Percy Jackson disappeared. Personally, I thought him being gone was a great improvement on camp life. He was almost as stupid as the guy we just rescued, and the stereotypical Greek demigod ( dumb as dirt, beefier than beef ). Him and I never hit it off, though everyone in Camp Half - Blood loved him, so naturally they blamed me for his disappearance.

Will and Grant got down off the chariot. Grant closed were pretty much shredded so I summoned an orange Camp Half - Blood T - shirt and jeans for him to wear. He took them. " What are these?", he grunted dumbly. " They're clothes, things you wear to cover yourself up. Paris gave them to you because your clothes were destroyed when you jumped through the window", Annabeth said, rather condescendingly. Grant gaped. " How did you know that", he said surprisedly. Annabeth didn't dignify that with a response.

A group of campers approached, running to meet the new kid on the block. Not really wanting to be around when they got here, I hurried off towards the cabins. As a son of Techne, I sleep in cabin 22, Techne's cabin. It is a relatively new edition to the cabins, as Techne made her request for a cabin in later years. It is a medium - sized square building with bronze statues striding across the roof, disassembling and reassembling as they went. The walls shimmered with magical energy and cogs and wheels turned on the walls. The door was covered in painted wheels, magically turning, and the number 22 was stamped in gold. I opened the door.

Inside there were beds lining the walls, frescoes of Ancient Greek scenes, and there was a magical mosaic on the ceiling which changed to reflect the sky outside. So far, I am the only inhabitant of this cabin and so I hang my clothes in the only closet. I opened it and took out my green fedora and navy overcoat. I don't like the standard issue camp clothes, an orange shirt and jeans, so I wear my overcoat and fedora a lot.

I left the cabin, and, not wanting to miss the fun of the claiming, I flew back towards the chariot tracks. I can't teleport, as I'm only a son of Techne, not Hecate. As far as I could tell, Grant hadn't been claimed yet. There was a large crowd gathered around them. " Is he the one who stabbed that girl in the side with those boards", asked Harley, an excitable eight - year - old son of Hephaestus. " No, Harley, he didn't stab her in the side. That was the Teumessian fox. He just jumped through a first - floor window", Annabeth said with a fake smile.

" Why did he do that?", asked Lacy Jones, daughter of Aphrodite. " Because he is a complete...", Annabeth began. " Okay that's enough. Seeing as how you haven't been claimed yet, you will be staying in the Hermes cabin for now", said Will. " Hermes, like... the handbag brand", Grant said dumbly.

Will sighed. A couple of demigods in the audience sniggered, me included. " No, the god". " Of handbags?", Grant asked. Even Annabeth had trouble keeping a straight face.

" Okay, let's get you settled in the Hermes cabin. Ah, Connor, could you escort him there", Will asked. " No problem, dude", Connor Stoll said, smirking. " No wait, I want to see Tansy", Grant said. The Aphrodite girls gave a big " Aaaawww". I rolled my eyes.

" Yeah, I really don't think that's possible. She's in a pretty serious condition and...". " Come on, Will, let him see her. It's so romantic", Lacy begged, mascara tears running down her face.

Will managed to hold firm. " No, she mustn't be disturbed. Our best healers are trying their best to save her, and we can't let anyone else in", Will said sternly. " Okay, I can see her when she gets better", Grant said. The Aphrodite girls gasped. Lacy fainted and her half - sisters barely caught her.

" Okay, that's enough drama for one day. Let's move out", I joked, pretending to herd people away. " Do we have to put him in our cabin? I mean sure, it would be fun playing pranks on him but, couldn't we put him in the Ares cabin, he'd fit in and he'd get to known his half - siblings really well", insisted Connor. " We don't know that's he's a son of Ares", Will said. " Though it's pretty clear he is", Annabeth murmured.

Everybody laughed, while Grant just stood there looking confused.

I turned away, getting ready to fly off when everyone gasped. I whirled around to see a glowing symbol floating over Grant's head. It wasn't a spear like I'd expected, but a pair of red lions, sitting side by side. The symbol for force.

The crowd knelt as Grant swatted the symbol over his head. " Hail, Grant Lizewski, son of Bia, goddess of force", Annabeth recited, managing to pull of a respectful bow. Grant stared at her, looking baffled.

I doffed my hat to him and bowed mockingly, then swept into the sky, to continue working on my pet project.

Grant's Perspective:

Now that I'd found out who my mom was, Annabeth grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away.

" Now that we know who your godly parent is, you'll be staying in Cabin 23, Bia's cabin", she said brightly.

" So, Bia, did she do anything cool?", I asked. " Well, she's a minor goddess, so she didn't do much, but she's most famous for chaining Prometheus to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains, along with Kratos. She is incredibly strong", Annabeth answered.

" Kratos, like from God of War?", I asked. " Yep. That character is based on him", Annabeth answered.

" Cool, so what can I do? Do I have super strength, so I can lift cars and stuff? Are demigods invulnerable? Are they super fast?", I asked excitedly.

" Okay, we're definitely not invulnerable, but we can become invulnerable via the River Styx. The only demigod with super strength that I know of is Hercules", she said.

" I am super - strong. My mom is the goddess of strength, right?", I asked.

" Force, actually, but you might have strength surpassing that of normal humans", she answered.

" Sweet", I exclaimed. We reached the Bia cabin. It was made of granite with the two lions of Bia sitting on the roof, on either side of the door. " Make yourself at home. Hope you like your new brothers and sisters", Annabeth said. She promptly turned and walked away

Not caring much, I turned, opened the door and entered the cabin.


	6. Miss Swift Begins

Miss Swift Begins.

Lindy's Perspective:

I sat at my computer, surfing through the Internet for a fabric - selling website. Most of the links were dead ends, and there were very few I liked the look of.

I growled in frustration. " Uh, stupid Internet. How specific do I have to be to get a link", I growled. I clenched my fists and glanced at the computer. Immediately I paid more attention to the monitor. There was a link for a website that said " All materials, from silk to spandex, and much, much more".

I grabbed the mouse and clicked on the link. I bounced up and down on my seat, waiting impatiently for the site to load. After what seemed like ages, the site finally came on screen. I scanned the list of materials and clicked on spandex.

A list of pictures came up of people wearing brightly coloured spandex and the prices appeared underneath them. I clapped my hands excitedly. " Oh, yes, yes, yes!", I squealed, moving the pointer to the select for ordering button.

I looked at the ordering time and gasped. Two months! How long does it take to send spandex to someone! I growled in frustration and slammed my fists onto the desk. " Selinda, are you all right?", Mom called up the stairs. " Yes, I'm fine", I said, teeth clenched. Then I remembered; there was a fabric shop a kilometre, I didn't know if they had spandex or not, but I could try.

I got up and grabbed a sweater from my drawer. " Mom, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back soon", I called. " Why, where are you going?", she called back. " Oh, just for a run, you know, to clear my head". " Okay, be back soon", she said worriedly. " I will. Bye", I called.

I went to the window, opened it and crawled out on the branch of the apple tree outside our house. When I crawled out far enough, I slipped off the branch onto a patch of soft soil on the driveway. I'd used this way out of the house since I was a little girl, when I didn't want my mom to know that I was leaving the house, or when I left, or which direction I went in from the house.

Since the fabric store was to the south, I went south down the road, the opposite direction I use when going to school. I strolled down the road in no hurry, passing the various brightly coloured houses with white picket fences and picturesque green gardens. How I hated living in Suburbia. It just looked so fake, like everyone was superficial and shallow.

I sprinted past the last house, thankful to leave Suburbia behind. I jogged around the corner, past the post office and a furniture shop and came to the shop. I couldn't decipher the title, due to my dyslexia, so I felt my pocket to see if I brought my purse. I did, so I opened the door and entered.

There was a surprising amount of spandex outfits in the shops, on dummies, hanging on racks, folded on shelves and suspended on the walls. The shop itself was quite small, about 64 metres2. The walls were painted black, with many pictures of people skateboarding or surfing while modelling different types of fabric. There were purple neon cursive signs all over the place, which of course I couldn't read.

Rather than browsing, I walked up to the counter. There was a skinny guy with brown dreadlocks sitting behind the counter, reading a comic book.

" Hello, could you tell where to get some spandex", I said loudly. The guy jumped and hastily put down the comic book.

" Yes, hello, how can I help you? What is it you want today?", he said loudly, beaming while he shoved the comic book out my sight. I rolled my eyes. " I want spandex", I said in the same loud voice. " Do you have any?", I shouted.

" Yeah, sure. Just let me show you where", he said. He leaped over the counter and hurried to the other side of the room. Sighing, I walked after him. I could have easily found the spandex on my own, as it was every where, but I wanted the personal touch. I regret that now.

" So, here we have a full body spandex suit, in a lovely shade of lemon", he said in a very oily voice. It was the worst shade of yellow I had ever seen. I was not going to wear that. I don't think anyone ever will.

" No", I said bluntly. " Okay", he said skittishly. He rushed to find some other spandex. I examined him more closely. He looked about 20, with round - rimmed glasses, pale skin and big blue eyes. The nametag pinned to his Star Trek T - shirt said Spencer.

" Ta - da, how about this?", Spencer exclaimed, brandishing a blood red unitard with lace ruffles all over it in my face. " Hmmm. I don't know. How much does it cost?", I asked, wrinkling my nose at it. it could be improved a lot if the ruffles were removed.

Spencer inspected the label. " $60", he said. I gaped. " That's a little pricey. It's a tacky leotard", I exclaimed. " Now, it's not tacky. Those are real lace ruffles", he said sternly.

He pulled out a sparkly green leotard from a nearby shelf. My eyes widened. " No, no, definitely not", I said, shaking my head. " Its fine, I'll find something myself", I said. Spencer nodded and went back to the counter, opened his comic book and continued reading. I sighed.

I flicked through the unitards, leotards and full bodysuits, spotted a white unitard I liked, checked the price, and opened my purse to see if I had enough money for it. Inside my purse was a yellow leotard and black fishnet tights. I blanched and hurriedly returned them to the shelves. I put as much distance between myself and the shelves as I could without getting too far away.

I had enough money, so I picked out the white unitard and brought it up to the counter. God, I hated my kleptomania. I couldn't walk into a shop without products magically appearing in my purse. Sometimes I noticed before I left the shop, sometimes I didn't.

I knocked on the counter. Spencer looked up, scowling. Seriously, he is the worst shop assistant ever. " I want to buy this unitard. I am allowed to, am I not?", I said with big puppy dogs eyes and a babyish pout. " Yeah, yeah, you are. Give it here". He held out his hand. I gave it to him and he scanned the barcode. " $10.55, please", he said. I handed him the money and he handed me my unitard.

" Lovely doing business with you", I said sarcastically and I swept out of the shop before I could steal anything else.

I hurried home from the shop, stuffing the unitard into my purse. As I passed the fountain with a statue of Cupid on it in the square near my housing estate, I sensed someone watching me. I looked around the square, but no one was looking at me. Then I glanced at the Cupid fountain. I could swear I saw Cupid's eyes move, flicking from me to their normal position. I frowned and kept an eye on the statue as I walked away.

I walked in the door of my house. " Mom, I'm home", I yelled. " Hi, sweetie, how was your run?", she called. " Fine, I suppose", I said nonchalantly. " Hey, do we still have a sewing machine?", I asked. " Why do you want a sewing machine?", she called back. " Oh, just a school project", I called. There was a pause. " Yes, we do. It's in the attic. Be careful with it. It's old and the needle has a tendency to jerk out of its slot", she warned. " Okay, I'll be careful", I yelled. I walked upstairs to the attic.

I did the last stitch on the costume and sat to back to admire it. I had found a pair of navy blue evening gloves in the attic, they probably belonged to Mom, she must have used them as part of her costume in her old plays. I smiled.

I barely registered hearing the front door open as I proceeded to change into my new costume. I was thinking I was going to need some form of mask when the door burst open. I froze with a tight halfway up my leg, like a deer caught in a car headlight.

Standing in the doorway was a young man in a suit. He looked about 21, and he had long curly blond hair, very bright blue eyes, perfectly tanned skin and teeth so white they were hard to look at. He was also very tall, around six foot, and had an athletic build. He smiled dazzlingly at me.

" Hi, Lindy, how you doing? I am Doctor Sikey", he said, the blinding smile never leaving his face. I frowned. " Doctor Who!", I exclaimed.

He opened his mouth to speak but my mother rushed in behind him. " I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You have absolutely no right to barge into my house and disturb my daughter. Leave now, and I won't call the police", my mom said, her full fire burning in her eyes. My mom can be a pain, but when all her anger, disapproval and general Mum - ness was directed at someone else for my benefit, I loved it.

Doctor Sikey didn't stop smiling. In fact, his smile grew wider. I was starting to be creeped out by this guy. " Oh, Beatrice, it's all right. I have no wish to cause your daughter any discomfort, I just wish to talk to her", he said, fixing his unnaturally bright blue eyes on me.

" Okay, that's... nice", I said, scrambling away from him on my bed, hiding my costume under the quilt as I did so. He advanced towards me, still smiling, and I had a flashback to earlier when Mormo was advancing on me in the bathroom. " Beatrice, I think it would be best if you left now", Doctor Sikey said, eyes fixed on me. " I am not leaving my daughter alone with some strange man...". Sikey glanced at her and she stiffened, then promptly spun and walked out, closing the door behind her.

I almost cried out her to come back, not to leave me alone with this creep. I looked nervously at Sikey. I was convinced he was going to transform into some kind of nasty any minute now.

He smiled even wider, if that was possible. " Trust me, I am not a monster", he said in what was supposed to be a reassuring voice. I stared at him and slid further away from him. " Who are you? What do you want?", I asked, slowly moving towards the obsidian Aztec knife on my locker that had been given to me as a souvenir by my archaeologist uncle David. " Oh, I wouldn't bother with that", Sikey said and he waved his hand at the knife and it promptly disintegrated in a puff of white feathers. I stared at the point where it used to be. Sikey chuckled. " Ah, don't fret. The Aztecs made loads of those. I am sure you can easily get another one", he reassured me.

I turned to face him. He was holding a small brown leather briefcase, which I was sure had appeared from thin air. " What are you? What do you want?", I asked, very confused now. He stopped smiling and sighed.

"Well, I might as well be straight with you. I assume by now you know you are a demigod?", he asked. I opened my mouth to answer, but he continued on. " I'm here to warn you. Some god, I don't know who, has been messing with you and your family, and I don't like that, so I'm hear to try and stop all the mayhem that will soon ensue, unless a lend a hand in coping".

" I'm coping fine. What's this about a god messing with me? How do I know you're not the one messing with me? You just did a pretty good job with my mom", I said. " I assure you, I am not messing with you", Sikey said, hands up. " Really, so, who are you then? I assume you're a Greek god. Which one?", I paused. " Are you my father?", I asked tentatively. He raised a derisive eyebrow. " Okay, so, who are you?", I asked.

He tilted his head, as if considering whether or not to tell me. Finally, he opened the latch on his briefcase and stood. The briefcase flew open and transformed into a glittering gold longbow, about a metre and a half long. His suit was replaced by a white tunic and sandals, and a pair of snowy white wings spread from his back. I gasped and staggered back. " Cupid?", I asked, completely flabbergasted. " Well, actually, I am Eros, god of love, passion and eroticism" he said, literally beaming at me, with rays of bright white light.

I gazed upon him, my mouth hanging open.

After I'd got over my initial thought, the first question that came to mind was what the Greek god of love wanted with me? From what I knew of Greek myths ( which is not a lot), Eros had a reputation for being mischievous, forcing people to fall in love with each other with his magic arrows.

There was no sign of his quiver or arrows now, but being a god, I assume he could summon them at will. I sat uncomfortably o my bed while Eros sat beside a little too close for comfort. " So, have you any love in your life, Lindy?", He asked brightly. " No, and wouldn't whether I had or not. You are the god of love", I said.

" Well, I did know, but its my mother who keeps tabs on who's dating who. She lets me in on a few secrets though. Speaking of which, no love life, what a shame. We're going to have to change that", he said, winking at me. I leaned away from him, my eyes widening. " Oh, don't worry, I won't tamper with your love life, it's not what I do". "Really, from what I've heard, it's exactly what you do". " Well, you're not wrong there. Mom has been trying to rein me in for millennia, but it never works. Even, my wife, Psyche, cannot rein me in fully, though she can to some extent", he said. " Mom, as in Aphrodite?", I asked.

" Yes, that is true, though I wish it weren't true. While we're on the subject, you know your friend Tansy, she's actually my half - sister", he said, like it was as normal as saying, " Oh, I got up this morning".

I gaped. " What, so Tansy is a goddess?!", I asked incredulously. How is it possible that I've known her all this time and not known she's a goddess? " No, no, no. She's a demigod, like you. A daughter of Aphrodite, to be precise". " Do you know who my father is?", I asked. " Yes, of course. He is Hermes, messenger of the gods". I frowned. " He is?". " Well of course, isn't it obvious. Incredible speed, kleptomania, winged boots. They all point to Hermes", he said.

Thunder rumbled outside, which was strange, as it was a very clear day today.

" Well, that's my cue. You may want to avert your eyes", Eros said, standing up. " Wait, where you going?, I am not finished with you yet", I demanded, glaring at him. He sighed and turned to me.

" I have to go, unless you want to be struck by lightning. Now, please, avert your eyes unless you want to be incinerated. Before I could stop him, he raised his arms and began to glow. I averted my eyes just before he burst into a corona of blinding light, and disappeared. I humphed and turned to leave the room when I noticed something on my bed. At the foot of the bed there was a dark blue mask with a note attached with string. I picked it up and read the note. _Dear Lindy, I hope you enjoy this present, and I hope it will fulfil your dreams, Lots of Hugs and Kisses, Eros. _At the end there was a stamp of a cupid on a dolphin jumping over a pair of crossed arrows.

Smiling, I pulled off the note and went to try the mask on.

I stood on a rooftop, overlooking the city. I'd had finally got the hang of my flying boots after a couple of days and now I can control them fine now.

So far, nothing interesting has happened. Maybe it's something to do with the fact that I go home at eight every evening and deliberately stay away from the rougher parts of town. Okay, I admit it, I'm not really getting into the spirit of costumed crime fighting, but I don't want to get my ass kicked by some thugs, or worse, having someone recognise me.

Thankfully, my mask isn't a domino mask, as it covers my nose, but still, a lot of my face is still visible. Also, I have no combat skills whatsoever, and I don't want to end up in hospital in a full body cast.

I sighed and sat down on the edge of the roof, putting my head in my hands. I gazed out on the city lights. " Hey", came a voice from behind me. I whirled to my feet, to see who the speaker was. A middle - aged man in a Wisconsin PD uniform approached me, displaying his badge as he did, hand on his gun. " Who are you? What are you doing on this rooftop? This is private property you know?", he said in a thick Italian American accent.

" W - w - well, I was just, um, admiring the view of the city lights, you know? They're very pretty", I stuttered, waving my hand in the general direction of the lights and tossing my hair from side to side and all over my face. The bad news. I knew this cop. His name was Tony Speciale. He was the one who arrested me after I pinched a couple of Yankee candles from Macey's. He sticks out particularly because he had petitioned to send me to a school for juvenile delinquents, and I would be there right now if Mom hadn't stepped in.

" You are not permitted to be up here. I'm going have to ask you to leave the roof", he said sternly. " Is that really necessary, I mean, this place was abandoned when I came here and, well, I have permission from the owner", I babbled, trying desperately to cover for myself.

" Really? Can I see written proof of that?", he said, his beady black eyes glaring at me. " W - w - well, I d - d - don't h - have it o - o - on me", I stammered. He reached for his gun. I blanched and promptly dived of the roof. " Hey", he yelled after me. I brought my feet under me and just before I hit the ground, I kickstarted my boots and flew into the sky. I looked down, saw Speciale's shocked expression and smiled.

" You don't see that every day, do ya", I called, and I laughed at his half confused, half - angry expression. Seeing this as a sign, I swung my legs underneath me and I flew/sprinted to the rougher part of town.

I immediately regretted my decision once I saw the filthy dark alleys and rotting apartment blocks of the eastern suburbs of the city. There were hobos and beggars strewn at the side of the streets, with rough looking young men patrolling the streets with knives and guns. I pulled up short over a particularly dirty apartment block and looked down at the street below distastefully. Just then, there was a cry from the building below me and a young woman fell from a 7th floor window. Acting instinctively, I swooped down and caught her around her middle. Thankfully, she was unhurt, so I flew her down to the ground.

" Thank you so much. He was trying to kill me", gasped the young woman. She was about twenty, and she would have been pretty if she wasn't so dirty. Her white blonde hair was matted with dirt, her nails were cracked and filled with dirt. Her skin was covered with a layer of grime and all she was wearing was a filthy crop top and bloodstained shorts.

She looked at me with frightened blue eyes. " Please, get me away from here, before he comes and gets me", she implored, shaking my shoulders as she did so. I looked up at the window and heard angry shouts from the window.

" Great idea. Okay, let's go", I put an arm around her waist and I zoomed off down the street. I swerved around cars and people, going so fast my face felt like it was peeling off. I laughed, then stopped guiltily when I saw the girl's face.

" What's your name?", I asked as we ran. " Ash, Ash Carter", she answered. " It's okay, Ash. It's going to be fine", I reassured her, as she was shaking like a leaf.

" No, I'm not safe. Even if I leave the country, he'll find me and drag me back to the brothel", she said, sounding absolutely terrified. " Brothel, you're a prostitute?", I asked. She averted her gaze guiltily. " Not by choice. I used to live with my parents, and my little brother, but two years ago, a loan shark named Billy Brisbane killed my parents, kidnapped my brother and burned my house down. My father had owed him money for several years, so he took me as payment. He brought me back to a brothel in the Slum, which was run by his brother Jim. I've been there ever since". " I've never heard of these Brisbane brothers before. Who are they, exactly?", I asked.

She gawked at me. " You've never heard of the Brisbane brothers? They are part of the most infamous crime family in Wisconsin. Who are you, anyway?".

" My name is L...". I just managed to stop myself before I blurted out my real name. After all, I was wearing a mask for a reason.

" It doesn't matter who I am. I'm sure you're going to be safe. I'm going to go now". I stopped and left her in an alley, then I ran away before my face got too red.

I sped into the backyard of my house at around midnight. I scrambled up the tree beside my window and climbed in, huffing with exertion. Sadly, I was still victim to tiredness to some extent. I went to the bed and collapsed, falling asleep instantly.

I woke up lying on my bed in full costume, sunlight streaming in the window and the sound of chickadees' songs drifting in the window.

I lay there, smiling dreamily, until the screeching started. " SELINDA, SELINDA, COME DOWN FOR BREAKFAST", Mom screeched, sounding like a choking vulture. Groaning, I dragged myself out of bed and pulled off my boots and gloves.

I staggered to my wardrobe and pulled on my pink dressing gown. I just remembered to remove my mask before I left the room.

I reached the kitchen just as Mom was serving the oatmeal. " Selinda, where were you last night?, I was worried sick", she said angrily. " I was... out", I responded groggily.

" Well, consider this the last time you will be going " out " for a long time", she said sternly. I groaned inwardly, finally considering the consequences of my decision to become a superhero. I finished my oatmeal and dragged myself up the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

Meet Barn Owl.

Michael's Perspective:

Hello, my name's Michael Prady, I'm 18 years old and I'm from Los Angeles. I never really had a normal life, but one Tuesday, it got a whole lot weirder.

As usual for a week day, I got up at six o'clock and put on a pair of blue jeans, a plain white shirt and my black combat boots before heading downstairs for breakfast. This may seem kind of strange, but my dad's a soldier so he's kind of strict about when I wake up and when I go to bed.

As I walked down the stairs, the smell of French toast and fried eggs drifted into my nostrils. I smiled happily. I walked into the kitchen to see my step - mom Hazel frying mushrooms. " Mornin', Mahkey. Have a nice sleep?", she asked smiling dazzlingly. " Yeah, it was great. All fresh and ready for my American history test today", I grumbled. " Aw, don't be lahke thah. Ah'm sure you'll do great. Great, brehkfust's ready ", she said in her lilting Texas accent. I smiled at her.

My stepmom and I get on great, as she's been married to my dad for 15 years. They got married when I was three. My dad had been feeling lonely since my real mother left before I was born, and when he met her when he was assigned to a training in Texas, it was love at first sight.

Hazel sashayed over, carrying the frying pan and a fish slice. " Here ya go, Mahkey. Hope ya enjoy it", she said. She turned, swinging her mane of golden curls over her shoulder and went back to dish out some of the fry up for herself.

I looked at my plate, trying to decide what to eat first as Hazel sat down at the floral print table. I stuck my fork into a sausage and bit a large chunk off.

We had just finished breakfast when I heard the doorbell ring. I perked up immediately. " Dad", I exclaimed. I jumped up and hurried to the front door.

I reached the front door and opened the lock. It opened and my dad came in, carrying his khaki suitcase. "Dad", I exclaimed, stepping towards him.

Captain Stephen Prady smiled at me and grabbed me in a hug. We look very alike, as we both are 6"2 and quite broad - shouldered and muscular. We both have square jaws, high cheekbones, black military haircuts and straight white teeth. The only difference between us is our eyes. He has dark brown eyes and I have stormy grey eyes.

He let me go and looked me in the eye. " Good to see you son", he said, clapping me on the shoulder. Hazel sauntered into the hallway, her sapphire blue eyes twinkling and a mischievous smile on her lips. " Stevie, Stevie, ah've meesed ya so much", she drawled, swishing her hips fro, side to side as she walked. " I missed you too, little nut", he said, putting his arms around her. She giggled girlishly, wrinkling up her perfect button nose. "Mmmmm", she hummed, leaning towards him. Seeing what was going to happen, I made a hasty exit up the stairs.

Once I got to my room, I hurriedly shut the door so I wouldn't have to hear what was going on downstairs. My dad is often away for long periods of time, working with the army, so Hazel can get very lonely without him. That means when he gets back, she feels the need to get intimate right away, no matter who's there and where it is.

I got down on the ground and started doing my daily push - ups. After I'd done 50, I sat up and did 50 sit - ups. I then did 50 chin - ups and then pressed 400 pounds 50 times. I do my 200 workout every morning, to keep in shape. Hazel's always telling me I really don't need to workout to keep in shape, in my genes to stay fit, but my dad's always encouraging me to keep it up, even though I have been doing it out of habit for years now.

I was about to run downstairs, when I heard thumps and crashes coming from the kitchen. I decided to go out the window. I climbed onto the window sill, opened the window and jumped out. I grabbed onto the ivy and grunted in pain from the backlash. Once I had a firm grip, I shimmied down the ivy vine and then swung on the vine across to the wall. I let go and dropped onto the wall. I hopped off and walked to the kitchen window. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see my parents' antics inside and stuck my hand through the window and felt around for my school bag. I felt the handle, grabbed it, pulled it out the window and made a hasty exit, trying to block out the memory of the sounds my parents were making.

I strolled down the sidewalk, in absolutely no hurry to get to school, as it didn't start for another 2 .5 hours. I whistled as I walk, stirring some larks into flight. I smiled as they flew in front of me, chirping in annoyance. I looked into the dense copse of lemon trees and jumped a foot. A pair of large, round, dark eyes were staring at me from inside the copse. They were looking me straight in the eye, like they were seeing into my soul. As they watched, a series of images flashed before my eyes; a dark - haired woman with eyes like mine, raising a sword over a man in an owl costume, like she was going to execute him; a teenage girl in blue and white spandex, running in terror from a faceless woman; my dad falling into a bottomless pit, yelling for help; an army of faceless men, women and children, reaching towards my neck, trying to strangle me; a little girl in a powder blue lace dress with her hair covering her face, holding out a big powder blue teddy towards me. I snapped back to reality, to see the eyes change from dark and round to stormy grey and intelligent, still looking into my soul. I felt cold fingers brush my neck, and I screamed shrilly

I heard familiar laughter from behind and I spun around angrily. My two best friends, Lex Ming and Shia Greenwood, stood there laughing their heads off at me. Lex was holding an icepack and grinning while Shia was doubled over laughing. I gritted my teeth.

" Not, funny, Lex", I snarled. Normally people get nervous when I growl at them, but Lex is kind of immune to fear. Lex is a short Asian boy whose mom is from China. He's really buff and stocky, but otherwise you could easily mistake him for a 12 year old, even he's two months older than me. He has shoulder - length black hair, which he refuses to cut, not even his mother can persuade him to do it, and she's pretty persuasive. He always wears a black T - shirt advertising the Exorcist, his favourite movie, black skinny jeans and a satchel which contains all manner of scary prank supplies, such as icepacks. His real name's Alexander, but he hates being called that, and he can be pretty scary when he wants to.

" Aw, come on, man, lighten up. It was just a joke", he laughed. " Yeah, well it's the last joke you're gonna make in a long time", I growled, glaring at him while I advanced on him. Instead of cowering, he laughed even harder. " Oh, dude, you crack me up", he said, giggling uncontrollably.

Shia looked at him in amazement, shaking his head. " How do you do it? Are you not afraid of anything", he asked. " No, and do you know why? Because I am fear", he whispered, sounding deadly serious. Shia and I stared at him. He burst out laughing again. " Oh, I can freak you guys out so easily", he said, barely containing his laughter. Shia glanced at me for a second, then back to Lex. Lex was right. He could be pretty creepy.

" Come on, let's go to school now. It's gonna be so fun. I plan to leave a replica of Mister Eisenhower's head in his office with a note saying " I'm gonna kill you next, from Jason Voorhees". It's gonna be a riot, especially when he starts peeing his pants", Lex cackled, almost choking on his laughter. Shia's eyebrows virtually disappeared under his baseball cap.

" Uh, Michael, can I talk to you for a sec?". He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me away before I could answer. He had look very worried, which is strange, as he never looks worried at all.

He's taller than me, about 6"3, and is as broad and hard as a brick wall. He's really tanned and has beady green eyes, and he has a long, hard nose and a square jaw. He has a shaven head, but he always wears a green Red Sox baseball cap which covers his head and I've never seen him with it off, and I've been friends with him for years.

He looked me in the eyes. " I think you're going to have to get rid of Lex". I stared at him. 2 What the hell's that supposed to mean?", I asked, looking at him confusedly. He looked over at Lex, his frown deepening. " We should probably impale the first chance we get", he said, dead serious.

I gawped at him. " WHAT?", I yelled. Lex looked over at us, frowning. " Shush, keep it down. He can't hear our plan to kill him", Shia whispered urgently. I backed away from him, staring at him in horror. " What are you talking about? I'm not going to kill him. He's my friend. He's our friend". Shia opened his mouth to say more but hurried away before he could say more. " Come on, Lex. Let's go". I glanced back at Shia one more time before pretty much bolting down the street, Lex following quickly in my wake.

I opened my locker, took out my chemistry book and my American history book. I looked my history book glumly. I was good at American history, as my dad always taught me about events of historical significance in America. However, the teacher, Mr. Nevil, hates me for some reason. He grades all my tests harshly and unfairly, always gave out to me in class and insulted my intelligence and always sneered and smirked when I got a question wrong ( which rarely happens, which sucks for him ).

I started walking down the corridor to Nevil's class when I saw Shia staring from the bathroom doorway. I spun on my heel and hurriedly marched the other way, going the long way round.

Shia had been staring at me from doorways since we got to school. I think there's something seriously wrong with him, ever since his " Let's kill Lex " speech. Nevil will kill me for being late but, it's worth avoiding the crazed psychopath who I thought was my friend.


End file.
